Captain Cold Officially Returns To The Arrowverse - Does This Mean The Rogues Will Be Big Bad For 'The Flash' Season 4?

"Zombies, exploding heads...creepy-crawlies and a date for the formal - This is classic, Spanky." Wah-hoo-wah! Twitter: @Scodonnell1

(Disclaimer: Spoilers for Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 15, titled "The Fellowship of the Spear" below. Continue at your own risk!)

Legends of Tomorrow has really found its stride this season. Following the chaos left by the destruction of the Time Masters in Season 1, Legends has formed a new team, and is facing a brand-new foe in the Legion of Doom. Though the show has moved on from the events of Season 1, some of the characters have not. Mick Rory has been haunted all season by the death of his good friend: Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold.

Snart made a brave sacrifice to save the Legends, and died during the destruction of the Time Masters. Ever since, Snart has been appearing to Mick Rory as a kind of hallucination, caused by the changes made to Rory’s brain during his time as Chronos. These visions of Snart are usually not friendly, and pray upon Rory’s suspicions that the Legends don’t trust him.

For the most part, Rory’s visions of Snart never lead to any real consequences. Rory seems to understand that his visions of Snart are just in his head, no matter how emotionally painful they were. That all changed on a recent episode of #LegendsOfTomorrow, when it was revealed that Snart was no longer a vision, but brought back from the dead by the #LegionOfDoom.

Captain Cold Returns On 'Legends of Tomorrow'

Legends of Tomorrow Season 2 Episode 15, titled "The Fellowship of the Spear" (check out the trailer above), was the culmination of the Legends' quests for all the fragmented pieces of the Spear of Destiny. Now that the Legends have the Spear of Destiny, they try to dispose of it before the Legion of Doom can get their hands on it.

The Legends set out to find the one thing that can destroy the spear: the Blood of Christ. The Legends travel to WWI France in search of a vial of Christ's blood (because they are not going to travel to the crucifixion on a CW show). When they finally arrive at the Battle of the Somme, Mick Rory is haunted again by visions of #CaptainCold, who encourages him to take the Spear of Destiny and betray his friends.

Unlike the many visions of Snart that Mick has had in the past, this one makes physical contact with Mick – which really messes with his head. Mick starts to doubt the team, and this is only solidified by the reveal that Rory is not having visions, but Leonard Snart is alive and well. The Legion of Doom had plucked Captain Cold out of his timeline before he joined the Legends, and he manipulates Mick into betraying the them. The Legends are defeated and the Legion of Doom absconds with the Spear of Destiny.

Does Captain Cold's Return Mean The Rogues Are Finally Coming To 'The Flash'?

Legends of Tomorrow [Credit: The CW]

Now that Captain Cold is back, fans might wonder why he has sided with the Legion of Doom. Thanks to the handy plot device known as time travel, this version of Captain Cold was taken before he stopped his villainous ways, and is similar to the version we saw in Season 1 of The Flash. Captain Cold is now badder than ever, and looks to be a full-fledged villain. But what does this mean for his future in the Arrowverse?

Captain Cold’s return to the Arrowverse, paired with the announcement that The Flash’s Season 4 big bad will not be a speedster, leads me to believe that Barry Allen is getting ready to face the infamous collection of villains known as #TheRogues. We have already been introduced to Heatwave, Mirror Master, the Top, Weather Wizard, Captain Boomerang, the Trickster, Golden Glider, Rainbow Raider, Pied Piper, and most recently Abra Kadabra on The Flash. A number of these characters are still around in some capacity on the series.

The Flash [Credit: DC Comics]

The only member they were missing to from their team (depending on how deep of a roster they use) for Season 4 of The Flash, was the leader of The Rogues: Captain Cold. His return to Legends of Tomorrow could be the Arrowverse writers way of trying to get all the players into position for a huge team-up in the next season of #TheFlash. We have seen smaller Rogues team-ups before where Barry easily won, but if they all joined forces, they could be a big problem for the Scarlet Speedster and give fans a break from the onslaught of speedster villains that have dominated the series so far.

We don’t yet know if Captain Cold is sticking around on Legends of Tomorrow, but with the Legion of Doom changing reality, it is possible that he could be back for the foreseeable future. Maybe comic book fans will finally get to see a fully-realized version of The Rogues led by Captain Cold very soon. We’ll have to keep watching The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow to see how all this unfolds.

Catch The Flash Tuesdays 8PM/ET followed by Legends of Tomorrow at 8:30PM/ET on The CW.

Sound off! Do you think Captain Cold’s return to the Arrowverse signals the formation of The Rogues? Let your voice be heard in the comments section below!

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